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On this 41st Wedding Anniversary of the "Thanks for the Memory" Oscar-Winning Lyricist: The Hollywood Walk of Fame Should Honor its Vows! Install "#LeosLostStar" that was Awarded to Him Over 30 Years Ago

Tuesday, 08 September 2020 09:35 AM

SHERMAN OAKS, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 8, 2020 / "I knew I had to marry the man who wrote such wonderful love songs," Cherie Redmond once said about lyricist Leo Robin who wrote romantic lyrics for hit songs with all of the great composers including "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" with Jule Styne, "Easy Living" with Ralph Rainger, "For Every Man There's a Woman" with Harold Arlen, "In Love in Vain" with Jerome Kern, "Love Is Just around the Corner" with Lew E. Gensler, "My Heart Won't Say Goodbye" with Sigmund Romberg, "My Ideal" with Richard A. Whiting, "No Love, No Nothin'" with Harry Warren, "Oh, but I Do!" with Arthur Schwartz and "Prisoner of Love" with Russ Columbo. Cherie once confessed that she fell in love with Leo's lyrics before falling in love with him. Sure enough, 41 years ago on August 26, 1979, Leo and Cherie were married. At their wedding, Leo sang her one of her favorite ballads, "If I Should Lose You."

Frank Sinatra with Quincy Jones and Orchestra in studio recording the passionate ballad "If I Should Lose You,"
composed by Ralph Rainger with lyrics by Leo Robin, for the album L.A. Is My Lady, released in 1984

Unfortunately, on December 29, 1984, after having been married only a little over five years, Cherie would lose Leo and the world would lose a giant. She wanted to see to it in her own lifetime that Leo would be acknowledged for his many achievements. In 1988, both Cherie Robin, and actor, Bob Hope, sponsored Leo for a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They followed the instructions and mailed in the application approximately five years after Leo's passing so that he would be eligible to be nominated for a star as soon as possible. But all too soon after that, Cherie, herself, already grief-stricken, was diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Tragically, Cherie Robin never received the good news about Leo's star because she passed away on May 28, 1989, a little over one year before the letter from the Hollywood Chamber was sent out on June 18, 1990 announcing that her husband had been awarded the star. As a result of these ill-fated circumstances, Leo's star was never installed. On July 6, 2017, Leo's grandson discovered Leo's long-lost star when he stumbled upon it on the internet. When, later that day, the grandson called the Hollywood Chamber and spoke to Ms. Martinez, he told her about his discovery of Leo's long-lost star; she officially confirmed it was true and said, "Nothing like this has ever happened before." Almost two years later on May 23, 2019, Ashley Lee from the Los Angeles Times first broke the grandson's serendipitous discovery in her story, "Leo Robin never got his Walk of Fame star. Now his grandson is fighting for it."

When, more than 30 years ago, the acceptance letter was mailed to Mrs. Robin (deceased) and subsequently returned to sender, Ms. Lee reported what happened, "The envelope was returned to its sender and has since remained in the Chamber of Commerce's records." She also tweeted, "at first I didn't believe that Leo Robin's star had really slipped through the cracks" with a photo of that acceptance letter and the envelope stamped "RETURN TO SENDER." The Hollywood Chamber made no attempt to notify the co-sponsor, Bob Hope, who has four stars on the Walk. In a press release issued by Leo Robin Music on June 26, 2019, the following was said about the Hollywood Chamber, "What the Chamber did after the letter was (marked) "Return to Sender" was not customary practice but smacks of disregard for the individuals honored by the Walk of Fame Committee."

On, what would have been, the 41st wedding anniversary of Leo and his wife, Cherie, we should remember the "unsung genius of American popular song" who brought his inimitable lyrics to the forefront of the movie scene at the dawning of sound and throughout the Golden Age of Hollywood. Many young actors got their big break when they were given a Robin song to sing such as Bob Hope, who credited Leo's heartfelt lyrics for launching his career, saying on January 2, 1985, "I owe an awful lot to Leo Robin. He and his partner gave me a memento that I've been carrying around me for 46 years. It's a melodic masterpiece called 'Thanks for the Memory.' No one works alone in this business. We all stand on the shoulder of giants and Leo was a giant who came along, just when I needed a shoulder to stand on. I came to Hollywood and was handed a song like that for my debut. How lucky can a guy get. 'Thanks for the Memory' won the Academy Award that year and I've had a pretty exciting ride on its coattails."

Like Leo, Cherie Redmond had worked in Hollywood for many years and had witnessed its ongoing changes. She was a part of its history with a distinguished career, having assisted Daryl Zanuck on numerous film projects and later handling the books for the renowned Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Production Company. For over thirty years, she was also Leo Robin's business manager, and, in the early 60's, served as Marilyn Monroe's private personal secretary. After being together for more than 25 years, what one could call a lengthy courtship, Leo married Cherie. At their wedding, Leo sang to her, "If I Should Lose You."

Leo Robin Media, Tuesday, September 8, 2020, Press release picture

The groom Leo sang his jazz standard, one of her favorites, "If I Should Lose You,"
to his bride Cherie in her daughter's garden, where they were married on August 26, 1979

Leo Robin wrote the lyrics to the passionate song "If I Should Lose You," composed by Ralph Rainger, which was introduced by metropolitan opera diva Gladys Swarthout and John Boles in the 1936 film Rose of the Rancho. You can feel the stirring emotions of this beautiful ballad that has the evocative lyrics "With you beside me No wind in winter would blow With you beside me A rose would bloom in the snow." It was saxophonist Charlie Parker recording fourteen years later that brought the song to the attention of jazz artists. This set the tune on its path to becoming a jazz standard and it has since been recorded by many of the greatest artists including vocalists such as Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Dick Haymes and Aretha Franklin and pianists George Shearing and Oscar Peterson.

Leo Robin Media, Tuesday, September 8, 2020, Press release picture

Leo and Cherie Robin celebrate the wedding cake tradition with the bride feeding the groom with the first bite of cake

Throughout the past sixty years, the Chamber has successfully kept track of 2,691 honorees and has seen to it that each and every one of them received a star, which was then successfully installed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - except for Robin. On this 41st wedding anniversary of the legendary lyricist Leo and his wife, Cherie, one can't help but conclude that Mr. and Mrs. Robin have been treated unjustly by the Hollywood Chamber. Johnny Grant, the honorary mayor of Hollywood for life, was proud of his mission in life of bringing the Hollywood story to everyone and in 1987, the town's centennial year, he told Times columnist Jack Smith about Hollywood, "It's a magic word all over the world." It's about time for the Hollywood Chamber to preserve the Hollywood magic and honor the decision made by the 1990 Walk of Fame Committee, which was presided over by Johnny Grant, and honor its vow to put Leo's long-lost star in its rightful place on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

For more information, visit the Newsroom at the official website of Leo Robin at http://leorobin.com/.

About Leo Robin Music

Leo Robin Music owns the copyrights of songs written by Leo Robin, who was known as the "Dean of Lyric Writers." He created lyrics that have inspired popular music and become part of the fabric of our culture. Considered to be one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th Century, he wrote many of the country's most popular jazz standards including "Blue Hawaii," "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," "Easy Living," "If I Should Lose You," "My Ideal," "Prisoner of Love" and "Thanks for the Memory."

CONTACT:

Scott D. Ora
President - Leo Robin Music
[email protected]
(818) 618-2572
Leo Robin (@LeoRobinMusic) / Twitter

SOURCE: Leo Robin Media

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